According to Census 2010, there are 3,484 same-sex couples living in Mississippi. The majority of same-sex couples are female (58%). The average age of individuals in same-sex couples in Mississippi is over six years younger than that of different-sex married couples – 43.9 and 50.4 years old, respectively. 29% of same-sex couples in Mississippi are raising children under age 18 in their homes. 996 same-sex-couple households in the state are raising 1,401 children. One in three individuals in same-sex couples who are members of racial or ethnic minorities (33%) are raising a child under age 18, compared to 26% of their White counterparts.

Extending marriage to same-sex couples in Mississippi would generate an estimated $10.8 million in spending to the state economy. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the most recent data available, 3,484 same-sex couples live in Mississippi. Of those couples, the Institute estimates that fifty percent (1,742 couples) would choose to marry in the first three years, a pattern that has been observed in Massachusetts and elsewhere. The marriages that would occur in the first year alone would bring about $6.9 million in revenue to the state of Mississippi that year.

Voter ID laws in the following nine states may create substantial barriers for over 25,000 transgender voters in the November 2012 general election: Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin. All of these states have passed strict photo ID laws and could have them in place before the election season.

This report documents public sector employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in Mississippi. The report is part of a 15 chapter study that documents a widespread and persistent pattern of unconstitutional discrimination by state governments against LGBT people.